At begribe kroppen

In the intersection between neoliberal entrepreneurship and epidemiological models of causation in late modernity the body has become one of the most prominent symbols of individual self-conduct, self-control and moral. Through the symbolic reading of the body, experts as well as laymen believe they can reach true statements about the individuals’ lifestyle, self-conduct, risk management, moral and not least self-discipline. But how did we come to a point in time where the body, health and illness became primarily the manifestation of lifestyle and individual self-conduct? In this article a few pieces of the Danish historical development towards this place in time will be outlined. The relationship between the body, culture and class has been the focal point of epidemiological research for well over 150 years. Characteristic of this production of knowledge is the formulation of shifting and often contradictory theories about the ontology of the individual and society, and the relation between these two entities. This article focuses on the development within epidemiological production of knowledge and its relations to contemporary intellectual, political and social changes, which seem to have been crucial for the way in which we now understand the body.